Revenue: $177.1 million, up 12.9% year over year. Subscription Revenue: Increased 14.4% to $150.8 million. Cloud Revenue: $80.2 million, up 29.6% from last year's first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA: $37.8 million, representing an EBITDA margin of 21.3%. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): Grew 17.9% to $618.5 million. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): 109%. Gross Revenue Retention (GRR): 95%. Average Annual Revenue Per Customer (AARPC): $140,943, up 14.1% year over year. Gross Margin: 75%. Operating Cash Flow: $14.8 million. Free Cash Flow: Negative $12.3 million. Unrestricted Cash and Cash Equivalents: Over $270.4 million.

Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with VERX.

Release Date: May 07, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Vertex Inc (NASDAQ:VERX) reported a strong start to 2025 with a 12.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $177.1 million. Subscription revenue grew by 14.4%, and cloud revenue saw a significant increase of 29.6% in the first quarter. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased by 17.9% to $618.5 million, indicating strong customer retention and growth. Vertex Inc (NASDAQ:VERX) announced an equity investment in Kintsugi, a startup focused on AI technology for indirect tax, which could enhance their offerings in the SMB market. The company achieved a gross recurring revenue (GRR) of 95%, within their targeted best-in-class range of 94% to 96%.

Negative Points

Net revenue retention (NRR) decreased to 109% from 112% in the previous year's first quarter. Free cash flow was negative at $12.3 million, impacted by seasonal cash flow patterns and accelerated investments. The company experienced a decline in direct customers, attributed to lower-end customers migrating away. Gross margin on services decreased to 31.1% from 40.5% in the previous year's first quarter, driven by higher compensation expenses and lower-margin services. Adjusted EBITDA showed only a modest increase of 1.3% year over year, with expectations of a slight decrease in the second quarter.

Q & A Highlights

Q: It seems that you've been highlighting more recently some larger customers who had homegrown solutions who are converting to a packaged software solution like Vertex. Can you just give us a sense, is there anything going on in terms of product or feedback from those customers, why now is the time to be migrating to a packaged software solution? A: David DeStefano, CEO: Two main factors are driving this shift. First, the growing complexity of e-invoicing mandates is pushing companies to seek more future-ready solutions. Second, increased audit pressure is making it unsustainable for companies to rely on manual efforts and point solutions. Our comprehensive suite, including e-invoicing and compliance, is prompting customers to reconsider their current setups.

Story Continues

Q: The direct customers did decline sequentially. Can you help us understand, is there just some more low-end customers with like really low ARPUs that are coming out of the model there? A: John Schwab, CFO: Yes, the decline is primarily due to lower-end customers migrating away. Our focus remains on scaled customers, which grew by about 15% this quarter. The gross revenue retention remains strong at 95%, indicating our main focus is on larger, more stable customers.

Q: I wanted to hit on the macro and what you're seeing out there. Really great to hear that there's no change in the buyer behavior. But just curious like from your perspective, why you think you're not seeing that macro volatility show up in the model? A: David DeStefano, CEO: Tax is becoming a higher priority in strategic discussions, especially with the rise of e-invoicing mandates. Our diverse set of wins across ecosystems and continued investment in channels, particularly with Microsoft and Azure, are helping us maintain a strong pipeline and mitigate macro volatility.

Q: Could you talk about how the competitive environment in e-invoicing comparison contrast to maybe your core indirect tax market? And has there been any impacted deals as a result of ecosio not having as broad of country coverage as others in the market? A: David DeStefano, CEO: Most competitors focus solely on e-invoicing without integrating compliance, which is a core part of our offering. Our combined VAT compliance and e-invoicing solution is a significant differentiator. We have coverage in major economies and are well-positioned for upcoming mandates in France and Germany.

Q: Can you discuss what you're seeing in terms of new logo growth? Anything in terms of the composition of enterprise versus mid-market would be helpful. A: David DeStefano, CEO: We saw solid growth in new logos across key ecosystems. SAP and Oracle tend to bring in scaled customers, while Microsoft Dynamics sees fewer scaled customers initially. Our strategy is to land and expand, with most wins in the enterprise market.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

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